When Editor-in-Chief Paige Noland of Architectural Digest wrote the following, I felt like she had just had lunch with me and the thousands of other designers who have been stiffed at some point in their careers. She put into words what we wish we could say to would-be trouble making clients.
Amen, Ms. Noland. Amen.
“STOP, THIEF! You know who you are. You do not intend to pay what you legitimately owe to the architect or interior designer. I wrote about this in my September 2008 letter and honestly can’t believe it continues to be an issue. But designers and architects wrote in by the boatload thanking me for speaking up. We know that you have attorneys on retainer who will launch threats or actual lawsuits by claiming a paint color was wrong, shelves were not adequate, this was not delivered, that was not as specified and the other thing was too late and didn’t match anyway. You are counting on the belief that the architect or interior designer cannot afford to fight back.
Now, to be fair, there may be a few interior designers and architects who are at fault as well. But we believe there are only a FEW. There might have been double-billing, shoddy merchandise delivered that was not what had been ordered, etc. It is possible that one or two of the AD 100 might be included in this group, although not to our knowledge. The design community is small, and bad apples get bitten. Word spreads. We hear. We try to show only those professionals with impeccable reputations, but admittedly we cannot give lie detector tests before granting membership. That will have to be addressed at another time. For now, however, I will say it again: You know who you are. And, undoubtedly, so do the architects and designers you would like to commission.” 
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Tags: AD 100, architects, Architectural Digest, billing, interior designers, magazine, merchandise, projects
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